Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology - Volume 12, Issue 3, 2011

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) remains one of the most serious and visually disabling complications of diabetes, particularly among working-age individuals in developed countries [1]. By 2030, approximately 366 million people are expected to have been affected by diabetes [2]. DR is not only a major cause of preventable blindness, but also accounts for a significant portion of the morbidity and mortality. At present, primary pr Read More

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) still represents one of the leading causes of vision loss worldwide. Since this condition affects the posterior segment of the eye, topical application of ophthalmic medicines is of limited benefit, considering that they seldom reach therapeutic levels in the affected tissues. Systemic medications can be insufficient due to the eye's immunoprivileged condition and existence of both inner and outer blood-retina Read More

Diabetic retinopathy remains a major worldwide cause of preventable visual loss. Although photocoagulation and improved metabolic control are effective for patients with diabetic macular edema and proliferative diabetic retinopathy, some patients continue to lose vision despite treatment. Various classes of pharmacotherapy have shown promise in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy, including corticosteroids, anti-vascula Read More

Retinopathy, the leading cause of acquired blindness in young adults, is one of the most feared complications of diabetes, and hyperglycemia is considered as the major trigger for its development. The microvasculature of the retina is constantly bombarded by high glucose, and this insult results in many metabolic, structural and functional changes. Retinal mitochondria become dysfunctional, its DNA is damaged and protei Read More

Diabetic retinopathy is a common and devastating microvascular complication in diabetes and is a leading cause of acquired blindness among the people of occupational age. Recent large landmark clinical studies have shown that intensive control of blood glucose or blood pressure (BP) reduces the risk for diabetic retinopathy. However, the strict control of blood glucose or BP is often difficult to maintain. Further, current Read More

The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a key role in the development of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and diabetic macular edema (DME), resulting in a significant visual loss among patients with diabetes mellitus. Systemic VEGF-A and the interplay between membrane-bound VEGF receptors and VEGF-R1 (soluble form) are key to angiogenesis and vasculogenesis. Furthermore, patients with diabetes hav Read More

Diabetic retinopathy is the most common microvascular complication of diabetes and the most severe of diabetic ocular complications. This review describes retinal changes at different stages of diabetic retinopathy and risk factors associated with this devastating disease. Special attention is focused on aldose reductase, the first enzyme of the sorbitol pathway of glucose metabolism. The current knowledge on the enzyme loc Read More

Purpose, To review current data regarding protein Kinase C beta (PKCβ) inhibitors and its efficacy in reducing the burden of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic macular edema (DME). Data Sources, MEDLINE search (1980- 2009) and presentations to major meetings. Data Synthesis, DR and DME have emerged as the main cause of visual impairment in working age population. Treatments for DR and DME include good m Read More

Research has proven that blood pressure is an important modifiable risk factor for diabetic retinopathy and that lowering high blood pressure significantly reduces the development and progression of retinopathy in both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. The renin-angiotensin-system (RAS) has been shown to become activated in diabetes. Hyperglycemia stimulates the angiotensin AT1-receptor and downstream chains Read More

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the leading risk factors and causes of blindness worldwide. Tight glucose and blood pressure control has been shown to significantly decrease the risk of development as well as the progression of retinopathy and represents the cornerstone of medical management of DR. The two most threatening complications of DR are diabetic macular edema (DME) and proliferative diabetic retinop Read More

Diabetic retinopathy remains a major cause of worldwide preventable blindness. The vitreo-retinal interface plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy. The term pharmacologic vitreolysis refers to the use of enzymes to liquefy the vitreous gel, and to induce posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). Intravitreal ovine hyaluronidase injection was effective in clearing vitreous hemorrhage. Several human case series Read More

Vitreous constitutes about 80% of the volume of the human eye. It is an extended extracellular matrix that is composed of collagen, hyaluronan, and other extracellular matrix molecules, but mostly water. In both health as well as disease, especially diabetic retinopathy (DR), special attention should be drawn to the posterior vitreous cortex and its relation to the retinal surface. The important role of vitreous in the pathogenesi Read More

In patients with elevated progesterone levels at the beginning of an ART (assisted reproductive technology) treatment cycle, the outcome of controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) may be inappropriate. A prospective cohort study was conducted to investigate whether the administration of a GnRH antagonist prior to the start of COS in these patients could lead to a similar pregnancy rate than in case of normal progesterone Read More

The phytoalexin resveratrol (3,4',5-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene) may attenuate cardiovascular disease in man. This study has determined whether treatment with resveratrol (1 mg/kg/day orally) prevented cardiac fibrosis and the decreased cardiovascular function in the DOCA-salt hypertensive rat as a model of human hypertension. Uninephrectomised rats (UNX) administered DOCA (25mg every 4th day sc) and 1% NaCl in drin Read More

A number of hypotheses have been put forth to explain the underlying abnormalities of schizophrenia. The widely held dopamine hypothesis suggests that positive symptoms are related to elevated subcortical dopamine transmission and that negative symptoms and cognitive impairments are associated with decreased cortical dopamine function. However, recent evidence suggests broader involvement of ser Read More

Huge volumes of data, produced by microarrays and next- generation sequencing, are now at the fingertips of scientists and allow to expand the scope beyond conventional drug design. New promiscuous drugs directed at multiple targets promise increased therapeutic efficacy for treatment of multi- factorial diseases. At the same time, more systematic tests for unwanted side effects are now possible. In this paper, we focus Read More